Chan Lowe: The state sex survey

The origins of the Florida sex questionnaire are murky. Gov. Scott’s office is pointing the finger at his surgeon general, or a former surgeon general, and the current surgeon general is ducking and weaving to evade responsibility while simultaneously trying to protect the governor. What we’re getting here is more double talk than a Republican trying to explain how a mandatory trans-vaginal probe represents a philosophy of smaller government.

Some of the questions are jaw-dropping: “How did you feel emotionally when you had unprotected sex -- were you trying to get pregnant, were you in the ‘heat of the moment and just went with the flow,’ or did you find the man attractive and ‘thought it would be nice to have a baby with him?’”

Here’s another choice one: “Has a sexual partner ever ‘told you he would have a baby with someone else if you didn't get pregnant?’"

One thing about this survey is crystal clear. It involves a topic that inordinately fascinates conservatives: the “s” word—sex. We know from the recent campaigns that there is a prurient obsession within social conservative circles about rape, contraception, women’s plumbing in general, and the perpetuation of the quaint notion that women are incapable of making important decisions on their own behalf.

There’s also a lot of ignorance, characterized by that priceless line from a U.S. Senate candidate about a woman’s body being able to “shut that whole thing down” in a case of “legitimate” rape.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this, since my colleague Brittany Wallman’s journalistic instincts have been aroused by the story she broke.

Maybe one of the things she’ll find out is that, offensive as this taxpayer-financed endeavor is, it’s important that the good old boys in the GOP have some hard data to look at, rather than having to rely on locker-room scuttlebutt and adolescent myths about the fairer sex. It beats hiding out behind the State Capitol building with dog-eared back copies of National Geographic.